18-year Officer Fired For Drug Use

November 14, 2002|By Nancy L. OthM-sn Staff Writer

DELRAY BEACH — An 18-year veteran of the Police Department who recently pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and admitted to an internal affairs investigator that he had a drug addiction has been fired.

Lt. Ivery Williams, 47, was fired on Friday because he used illegal drugs and was convicted of a felony, according to a letter sent to Williams from City Manager David Harden. His internal affairs report was made public Wednesday.

Williams was arrested in February and accused of trying to buy $20 worth of cocaine from an undercover officer in Liberty City. In September, he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and resisting arrest with violence and was sentenced to two years probation and 100 hours community service.

In an Oct. 3 interview, Williams told internal affairs investigator Lt. John Palermo that he had been using drugs for six to eight months before his arrest but never sought help, because he thought he was "handling it."

"I was in a state of denial and saying to myself that I don't really have a drug problem because, you know, of what I was involved in," Williams said, according to a transcript of his interview. "I never even thought about it twice because everything was going rather smooth for me, so until that incident I didn't even think I really had a problem."

He also said that drinking "gin and juice" on weekends and occasional weeknights when he was off-duty led him to try cocaine, according to internal affairs reports. He used cocaine about four times a month, according to his statement.

As recently as Feb. 7, during his routine physical, Williams tested negative during a drug screening and was medically cleared for duty, according to the internal affairs report.

On the night of Feb. 22, Williams told Palermo, he drove to Miami-Dade County in a city vehicle specifically to buy cocaine. According to interviews with the police officers who arrested him, Williams asked an undercover officer for a "DP," which is street terminology for "dime powder," or a bag of powder cocaine.

Williams admitted to buying the cocaine but denies he violently resisted arrest and said he was only trying to flee from police, according to his interview.

Chief Larry Schroeder told Williams during an Oct. 24 chief's hearing that the interview was his opportunity to tell his side of the story before a decision was made on disciplinary action. Williams told Schroeder that he was completing treatment for his drug problem on the night of the interview and would be attending a three-month after-care program.

"Obviously your personal life and your health is paramount, and you've got to get this thing licked so that you can live a long and prosperous life ahead of you, and you've got plenty of years ahead of you," Schroeder told Williams. "You're a young man still."

Williams could not be reached for comment.

Though Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Marc Schumacher withheld adjudication in an attempt to allow Williams to keep his police certification, it's still possible he will lose it. Delray Beach police sent a letter Wednesday to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement so the criminal justice and training commission can determine whether it will pursue disciplinary action against Williams.

"I intend to give you the opportunity to salvage the rest of your life and any right or wrongs you committed by offering you a withholding of adjudication in this case," Schumacher told Williams.

In a letter to the file recommending Williams' dismissal, Capt. Ross Licata wrote that today's public demands officers with legal, ethical and moral standards.

"As a result of his actions in this incident, Lieutenant Williams has violated that public trust in the highest regard, seriously disappointed friends and co-workers and lost all credibility in the law enforcement community to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities entrusted in him as a commanding law enforcement officer," Licata wrote.

According to his personnel file, Williams was being considered for promotion to captain and scored well on exams he took in November 2000. He was praised in the oral exams as a "team leader" and "overachiever."

In 1996, Williams was one of six black officers who received a $1.2 million settlement from the city in a discrimination lawsuit. After his promotion to lieutenant in 1999, Williams was honored with an award from the Palm Beach County Minority Law Enforcement Council.

During his background check before being hired in 1984, police interviewed a lifelong friend of Williams who said that Williams smoked marijuana in college but never used cocaine or other drugs, according to Williams' personnel file.

Nancy L. OthM-sn can be reached at nothon@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6633.